Subarctic climate

The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate or boreal climate) is a climate characterised by long, usually very cold winters, and short, cool to mild summers. It is found on large landmasses, away from the moderating effects of an ocean, generally at latitudes from 50° to 70°N poleward of the humid continental climates. These climates represent Köppen climate classification Dfc, Dwc, Dsc, Dfd, Dwd and Dsd. In very small areas at high altitudes around the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Alaska and other parts of the northwestern United States (Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon and Idaho) the climate is classified as Dsc with a dry summer climate, such as in Seneca, Oregon.

Description

This type of climate offers some of the most extreme seasonal temperature variations found on the planet: in winter, temperatures can drop to −40 °C (−40 °F) and in summer, the temperature may exceed 30 °C (86 °F). However, the summers are short; no more than three months of the year (but at least one month) must have a 24-hour average temperature of at least 10 °C (50 °F) to fall into this category of climate.